Whenever an Aiwa Academy player missed a shot, Nakajima Shijin tried to quietly slip into the paint for the rebound while the Ryonan players were distracted. But Fukuda Kicchou gave no ground. He always positioned himself between Nakajima Tsugito and the basket in advance, using his body to keep Nakajima Tsugito firmly out of rebounding range. Sometimes, the instant Nakajima Tsugito jumped, he used his superior leaping ability to snatch the rebound first, completely denying Nakajima Tsugito any chance at it.
In terms of overall ability, Fukuda Kicchou and Nakajima Tsugito were evenly matched. Their offensive skills, defensive awareness, and physical gifts were all comparable.
It was precisely because they were so evenly matched that their battle in the details became especially fierce.
If you disrupted my offense, I would ruin your rebounding. If you limited my movement, I would interfere with your passing. This mutual restraint kept both of them from fully committing to other aspects of the game, forcing them to devote much of their energy to their individual matchup. Indirectly, it also affected the offensive and defensive rhythm of both teams at other positions.
Time ticked away. As Ryonan scored another fast-break basket through Sendoh, Chi Tong intercepted Zhu Xingda's pass and fired a long pass to Sendoh in the frontcourt. Sendoh caught it and casually drove in for the score.
In stark contrast, the Aiwa Academy players gradually showed exhaustion and anxiety on their faces. Their offense had been stifled for too long, while the pressure on defense constantly drained their stamina and confidence. They became increasingly hesitant when passing, afraid that Ryonan would intercept the ball again.
More holes began to appear in their defense as well. Either they could not keep up with Ryonan's movement, or they lost track of the players they were